Matt Trowbridge: Bears QB not afraid to visit Jets’ Revis Island

Matt Trowbridge

Thursday

Dec 23, 2010 at 12:01 AMDec 23, 2010 at 11:19 PM

Why does anyone punt to Devin Hester? “I have no idea,” said Jets coach Rex Ryan, who said he won’t do it Sunday. But as great as Hester is, he doesn’t have his own island. The NFL’s best receivers have been stranded on Revis Island, but the Bears say they won’t stay away from All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis.

Why does anyone punt to Devin Hester? “I have no idea,” said Jets coach Rex Ryan, who said he won’t do it Sunday. Ryan and Bears coach Lovie Smith called Hester the best punt returner in NFL history.

As great as Hester is, he doesn’t have his own island. The NFL’s best receivers have been stranded on Revis Island, but the Bears say they won’t stay away from All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis.

“You can’t eliminate one side of the field,” QB Jay Cutler said. “It gives the other team too much of an advantage, so Johnny (Knox) and Devin (Hester) and Earl (Bennett) are going to have to find a way.”

That’s far less bold than Cutler saying he would “go at him every time if I could” after Washington’s DeAngelo Hall intercepted him four times. But Revis is a far better player than Hall. “He’s as good as I’ve seen in many years,” Bears offensive coordinator Mike Martz said.

Still, Martz agreed with Cutler that the Bears can’t afford to simply avoid Revis. He called it a “tricky challenge” but a necessary one. “It doesn’t mean you don’t do it. You just have to be careful in how you are doing it,” Martz said.

N.Y. snow not like Chicago snow

Rex Ryan isn’t worried about playing in Chicago in late December because the Jets played the Bengals in a game that was “ridiculously cold” last year, although he quickly admitted it wasn’t as cold as Chicago’s game Dec. 20 in Minnesota.

Tommie Harris said that game featured better weather than Chicago’s last home game and that neither team should freeze Sunday.

“I heard it’s going to be nice, not like (against) New England,” Harris said. “With the snow and you really couldn’t see out there.”

Tillman in a teasing mood

Tim Jennings, lockered next to Charles Tillman, pretended to join the rest of the media crowd around his fellow cornerback Wednesday and thrust a borrowed microphone in Tillman’s face. Tillman, though, objected to his attire; Jennings was wrapped in a towel at the time.

“A man holding a microphone while he’s naked; I do not feel comfortable. I feel really uncomfortable,” Tillman said.

Tillman also got some jabs in when a cameraman’s cell phone rang.

“What are you, a player?” Tillman asked. “Or a dealer?”

Rebound win shows character

Routing the Vikings 40-14, a week after getting blown out 36-7 by the Patriots, might rank as Chicago’s second-most impressive win, after the Eagles game but ahead even of the early-season Green Bay win.

Tight end Greg Olsen said the Bears “took care of business in a big-time environment” and did so “decisively.”

“I don’t think every team responds like that,” Olsen said, “but we did. And we have in the past and we did this past week. That says a lot about the kind of team we are and the character and leadership we have from Coach (Lovie) Smith down to the players.

“The quicker you learn how to bounce back from tough days, the longer you will last in this business.”